Heretofore, a number of attempts have been made at combining a carton with a coupon or the like for redeeming goods and/or for the purpose of providing the consumer with information designed to be saved for future use. The following list of U.S. patents are believed to be exemplary of the prior efforts:
#2,134,971 (229-37) PA1 #3,183,614 (40-312) PA1 #3,219,253 (229-16) PA1 #3,389,850 (229-16)
Each of the first two patents listed disclose coupons or the like that are adhered to the exterior of a carton side wall. In the case of the '971 patent, the coupon is removably attached to an exterior glue flap that extends for the full length of the carton side wall. In the '614 patent, the coupon is made a part of the exterior glue flap. Thus, in both cases, the coupons are readily available, but removal of the coupons produces an unsightly appearance to the cartons. Meanwhile, in the '253 and '850 patents, the coupons are located inside outer walls of the cartons so that the coupons cannot be removed while the cartons remain intact.
In accordance with the present invention, a coupon card is applied to an exterior wall of a carton so as to be readily available, but the manner in which the coupon card is attached to the carton blank is such that removal of the coupon does not appreciably affect the appearance of the carton. The invention is carried out by utilizing both interior and exterior glue flaps on the carton blank wherein the exterior glue flap is sized so as to be substantially equal in length to one dimension of the coupon card. The coupon card is removably attached to the end of the exterior glue flap and is releasibly spot adhered to an exterior side wall of the carton. The graphics printed on the carton side wall beneath the coupon card are correlated with the graphics on the coupon and on the exterior glue flap so that removal of the coupon does not change to any appreciable extent the appearance of the carton.